Promised Lance
, also occasionally referred to as is a device created from the remains of the meteorite. Its creation and completion rank among the greatest of goals for both Judas Priest and Dante Inferiro Orlandrius, though their motives considerably differ. It plays a major role in Standpunk Underground, officially debuting in the story's "final act". Similar to the Stand-creating Arrows, this weapon interacts with and creates Stands. Its main purpose, however, is to hasten the creation of "variants" among suitable persons. These variants are currently known as , and . It apparently holds the key to achieving , "a power surpassing Requiem", though the exact methods of this have not yet been revealed. Individual Stands progressing towards these stages are fully transformed into them when they and their user are pierced by the Promised Lance. Profile History Origins Construction Stand Types Created Though the nature of the different Stand variants created varies wildly, they are all extraordinarily more powerful than their counterparts before transforming. Wounds A is the most terrifying out of the Stand variants created,largely due to the nature of their creation. In order to transform one's Stand into a Wound, the user must be subjected to frequent devastating damage to both the mind and body over a period of many years. Because of this, the damage to their physique and psyche are reflected on the Stand itself, and it becomes more haggard and demented in appearance to the point of being nightmarish. The damage does not have to be constant before the user is pierced with the Lance; Emilia Vartiainen underwent a period of healing in both aspects before being struck, and Sufferer & Witness transformed into a Wound anyway. Rather, a certain amount of damage must be accumulated and remain as trauma in order for the transformation to occur. When transformed, Wounds are notably more powerful than their Stand counterparts, and most notably are less controllable. In fact, the user rarely controls the actions of their Wound, and they will attack and hurt other people indiscriminately. Once manifested, they can still be withdrawn, but due to their difficulty to control it takes some amount of mental discipline in order to do it. This appears to take the form of one coming to understand the source of their pain, as well as mastering it or managing to let it go, fully accepting hope. While this will not undo the Stand's transformation into a Wound, as the damage has still be done and mental scars cannot be erased that easily, it does render the user capable of dispelling and summoning their Wound at will, though it is still a monumental feat to control them while active. While uncontrollable, every offensive action that a Wound takes releases a feeling of relief over its user; for a moment, they forget completely about their pain, as if it had never happened. This feeling lasts longer the more actions the Wound takes, and having it out can become an addictive experience for the user. A Wound remains capable of effecting its user, and before mastery over it is achieved the Stand master will often be immobilized, unable to do anything but wallow in their pain while their Wound rampages. In alternate cases, the user can be influenced by their Wound and act along with it, encouraging and assisting it in its attacks, as shown when Daft Punk verged towards becoming a Wound. Wounds have no registered name change when they incarnate, though the possibility of it occurring is not zero. Bounds Beyond The most unique out of the Promised Lance's creations, a is regarded by Judas Priest and several others to be the greatest and most powerful of the Stand variants. The creation and reaching of this form is the ultimate goal of the main antagonists of this part, with underground Stand fighting designed to somehow pave the way and lead to this end. Beyonds can only be created within the confines of Greenland, as that is where the meteorite first landed and began the proliferation of Stands throughout the reset universe. Here, within the specific confines of a forgotten valley in the Greenland ice sheet, lies the initial point of impact. In this place the amount of energy released by the meteor is at its maximum, permeating the air and everything within it. Most importantly, the , the makeup of the virus that grants Stand users their power and advancements upon it, are thicker in the atmosphere around this point than in any other place on Earth. Thus, Stand masters entering this area will find that their own Stands have gained a level in power, with greater stamina and more durability, in addition to an increase of power in their base abilities. While these are not big enough to drastically effect the tide of battle (especially as both would have received this boost save for long-range battles), these are only the first step towards achieving the realm of Beyond. In this valley, the very atmosphere is primed for the creation of this variant. Even then, the process of acquiring a Beyond is a tad complex. In order to reach this level, the user and their Stand must have "acquired all that is" of their kind before ascending. Put in simpler terms, this means that aside from reaching a certain level of power as an ordinary Stand, a potential transformee must also have at least touched the realms of Bounds and Wounds. As this is a feat extraordinarily difficult to perform, and potentially open to certain Stands. It is known that One was stated to have the chance of doing so, and Daft Punk was shown to, though no others have been showcased in the series. Even after reaching all these steps, the user must pierce themselves with the Lance while at the heart of the valley in order for ascension to occur. Once this has been done, a Beyond is created; rest assured that it lives up to its title. As its name would suggest, a Beyond is an existence that resides outside of both space and time completely, this effect naturally extending a great deal to its user. The most notable aspect of this power is the user's new immunity to everything dealt to them by one still bound to the normal plain. While blows, attacks, and abilities will appear to land or take effect, a Beyond will emerge from them unscathed, as if nothing had happened at all (which, technically-speaking, is true from their perspective). Even powers such as stopping, erasing, or rewriting time will not do anything to a Beyond, and they will be able to operate as though nothing has happened at all. Most importantly for the purposes of the story, the user gains complete immunity to the "absolute" reality-erasing power of One Requiem, and will retain their memories of everything that has been erased. Even things that have been erased already will return to the user's memory after achieving Beyond. Area-of-effect attacks and planet-destroying conflagrations also have no effect for the same reasons above. Essentially, anything that remains a part of the current reality cannot do damage to a Beyond, even the fabled Requiem Stands. While it is hypothesized that the use of a Beyond will make the master immortal, this has not been proven, as the effects of a Beyond upon its user vanish as soon as it has been dispelled; to return once it is called upon again. The user can move within the vacuum of space unaffected, and has access to odd myriad powers like time travel in certain cases. Given that Judas Priest's plan, Beyonds can apparently influence the universe on a wide-scale from a "more privileged position" of sorts. A Beyond can still attack, through a technique referred to by Seiji Kamijou as "striking down". Through this, the Beyond briefly interacts with the world that it has abandoned, delivering blows and strikes with incalculable power (as they remain unbound by time and space, and thus cannot be measured by traditional means of those remaining within; the actual power of the blows has not been officially confirmed as greater or weaker than the Stand's original form). There is no defense against the attacks of a Beyond (save for another Beyond or those with sufficient wits to avoid or jury-rig a temporary block) and thus those attacked are generally defenseless. The same applies to the upgraded Stand's power, which remains the same but now has a near-infinite range and can effect larger-scale processes than it ever could previously. In return for this ridiculous amount of power, however, the user is left in a near-debilitated state when the Beyond is rescinded, with Seiji being unable to move or access any of his senses for easily over a month after using his own. Stands that have been transformed into Beyonds can the word "Beyond" in front of their original name, to symbolize their rising above the plain their Stand once occupied and into the realm of something more. Physical changes in the Stand's appearance can range from great to negligible, and it is unknown if they remain a permanent fixture, as the only Beyond shown in the series (or its original Stand form) was not called upon again after the finale. Other Creations Those Stands pricked with the "thorns" along the Promised Lance's shaft transform into Requiem Stands, as demonstrated with Judas Priest and One Requiem. Gallery Trivia *The concept of "Wounds", "Bounds", and "Beyonds" was first introduced in the light novel Jorge Joestar. Being of dubious canoncity, the author recreated the concepts within Standpunk Underground, albeit with some small differences. Site Navigation Category:Zeon1 Category:Items Category:Concepts